Cultural Intelligence and Innovation: The Roles of Employee Voice, Work Engagement, and Innovation Climate in HEIs

Amid accelerating globalization and growing uncertainty, employees’ innovative work behavior is now essential to enhancing organizational competitiveness, particularly in culturally diverse higher education institutions (HEIs) where innovation is key to sustainable performance. However, empirical research on how cultural intelligence (CQ) fosters employees’ innovative work behavior remains limited. The current study endeavors to elucidate the underlying processes and contextual conditions that shape CQ’s influence on innovative work behavior, examining the mediating roles of employee voice and work engagement, as well as the moderating effect of the innovation climate. Using data from 541 employees and 170 immediate leaders across 156 HEIs in China, the results show that: (1) CQ positively correlates with innovative work behavior; (2) employee voice and work engagement mediate the nexus between CQ and innovative work behavior; and (3) When the innovation climate is highly supportive, the indirect impact of CQ on innovative work behavior via these mediators is amplified. The results yield valuable theoretical and practical insights for managing cultural diversity and fostering employee innovation in organizational settings.